


rivals forever

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Not A Happy Ending, Sad, pining lance, season 7, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 14:12:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15708846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They say life flashed before your eyes, and now, Lance knew what they meant.or,the one where Red doesn’t save Lance in S7E10.





	rivals forever

_They say life flashed before your eyes_ , and now, Lance knew what they meant.

His vision became blurred with tears, helplessly watching his laser beams bouncing off the exterior of the Galra ship as the vehicle raced towards him. He braced himself, holding the shield tight as he protected Veronica’s unconscious body. His eyes fell shut as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Veronica.” 

 

* * *

 

It was July 28th, approximately six thirty pm. The sun was setting, causing the sky to appear as a pretty mix of oranges and reds. Of course, there were hints of blue apparent as well— that was Lance’s favorite color and not just because _he_ had blue eyes. Blue was the color of the ocean, which was his favorite thing in the entire world, besides outer space. But, space was blue as well. 

“Come on, Lance, make a wish!” His mama, Valentina, cheered. Her eyes were blue like Lance’s. 

“Yeah, _any day_ now.” Veronica chided in the background, staring boredly at the scene through her spectacles. She was in her cadet uniform, and Lance hoped to have one just like it soon.

Lance grinned widely, shutting his eyes as he made a wish. _To get into the Galaxy Garrison_. 

 

* * *

 

So, he didn’t know anyone here. Well, he _knew_ people, just not _personally_. For example, there was Keith Kogane. He was supposedly the greatest pilot ever with the stinkiest attitude ever known to exist. Lance dismissed his status, knowing that Keith couldn’t be _that_ good. Naturally, he knew Iverson. The man was terrifying, but Lance knew that he was soft. He caught the sympathetic glances Iverson would send him whenever he fell behind on an assignment or simulation. 

“Nice job, _Keith_ ,” Lance spat at the other teen bitterly when he caught him exiting the princial’s office. Keith’s fist was bruised, and his face was roughed up from hitting the floor after his little scuffle with James Griffin. James was an _ass_ , but Lance would never dream about punching him in front of the authority figure. “Now we are super behind, and Iverson hates us.” 

“Well, that’s nothing new for you, right?” Keith scoffed, purposely bumping his shoulder against Lance’s as he walked past coldly.

Lance huffed. “Oh, yeah? Well, you’re dumb!” his voice echoed throughout the hallways to be heard by no one. The Cuban’s shoulders slumped. The rumors were true; Keith was cold, but he was a hella good pilot. 

“Are you okay, dude? There’s kind of no one there.” a upbeat voice dragged him away from his thoughts.

Lance jumped, turning to face a boy his age. He was bigger than Lance, but definitely not intimidating. “Sorry, I was telling that Kogane kid off,” he chuckled nervously. “He ran off crying.” 

“No way,” the male gasped, brown eyes wide. “ _The_ Keith Kogane?” 

“Yup!” 

Crazily enough, the two bonded over Lance’s horrible lie, and he figured out that the friendly boy was named Hunk. Lance _never_ did tell Hunk that he lied about making Keith cry. 

 

* * *

 

Joining Voltron was the best thing that’s ever happened to Lance, besides his family. In a way, team Voltron was his other family— his space family. Shiro, who was a big shot back on Earth, was someone Lance looked up to. He was stressed and sometimes a mess, but he made up for it with his amazing leader qualities. Pidge was someone Lance knew back at the Garrison, and they were friends. She was a genius, and formally known as a boy. Lance _still_ couldn’t believe it. Hunk was still his best friend, full of sunshine and positivity. He was there for Lance no matter what, even when he began to question his place on the team. Coran and Allura were good advice givers and quickly grew on Lance. They were peculiar folks, but Lance swore he’d get them use to human customs soon enough. 

 _Keith was_ — 

He was the same. He was careless, quick to anger, stubborn, and _still had Lance’s heart beating rapidly_. 

The rivalry that Lance made up never was meant to be real. It was nonexistent to Keith, and Lance knew that. He just wanted a way to get closer to the red paladin. _Somehow_ , it worked.

They would always bicker, and Lance would get butterflies in his stomach whenever they did so. The way Keith’s face turned a little red whenever he got heated or annoyed was simply adorable to Lance. 

_“We had a bonding moment; I cradled you in my arms!”_

_“Nope, don’t remember didn’t happen!”_

The truth was that Lance remembered _everything_. He remembered the slight quiver of Keith’s fingers, his rough skin brushing against his smooth skin gently, and the pained look on Keith’s face. It was almost easy to pretend that Keith felt the same way about him when it was so obvious that Keith worshipped the very ground that Shiro walked on. 

And, when he slipped back into unconsciousness again, head snug against Keith’s chest, Lance heard Keith’s heartbeat— _his and his own beating together at the same time_. It was easy to pretend that they were _one_. 

Though, the reality was that Keith would only ever see Lance as his stupid rival-wannabe.

 

* * *

 

Lance’s eyes opened once more, movement of the Galra ship shaking the ground he was on. His teammates were calling him, and through the ruckus, Lance heard Keith. He almost sounded worried, “I swear, you idiot! Get out of there now! If you die, I’ll kill you!” 

“ _Keith_.” was the first word that Lance said to them, and he heard faint breaths of relief. “I‘m sorry,” he said softly. “But, I have to protect her.” With a swift motion, Lance removed his helmet, ignoring the cries from the paladins. 

Promptly, he slipped the helmet onto Veronica, hoping it would help in some way. 

“Tell them I love them,” Lance told her, eyes surprisingly wet. “Tell Keith I’ve _always_ loved him.” And, with that, he was pushing her body aside with all the force in him. She skidded across the sandy terrain, to Lance’s relief, but when he looked back, he knew he was a goner.

Lance welcomed the impact with open arms.


End file.
